20 scary books to terrify you this Halloween

More horrific than haunting,The Call of Cthulhuis a wonderful example of HP Lovecraft's peculiar imagination. There is unforgettable science fiction imagery throughout – "A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings" – but Lovecraft also explores the pervading power of cults, and concludes with the chilling line: "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents."